4.0
- Release date:
- October 10, 2007
- Artist/Band name:
- Radiohead
- Record label:
- self-released
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.inrainbows.com/
By sidestepping the industry machine entirely, the band successfully circumvented enough timeworn conventions—marketing campaigns, pre-release leaks and first-week sales numbers—to glaringly reveal just how pointless all of that is now. To survive in the new music economy, acts need to become self-sustaining entities that get their message out by any means necessary.
In the case of “In Rainbows,” Radiohead’s message is that they’ve earned the right to do something that precious few bands can anymore—make the world stop and pay attention whenever they have something to say.
Thom Yorke and crew pretty much left the reservation when they followed up their ornate second album, “The Bends,” with the cultural zeitgeist that was “OK Computer.” It was an artistic and stylistic leap akin to one band going from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” to “Dark Side of the Moon.”
While “In Rainbows” is not the singular statement of albums like “Kid A,” it’s a fully realized collection of the band’s many strengths and cements their status as one of the last bands left that really matter.
“15 Step” combines a propulsive rhythm that undulates like a Timbaland production with the sonic experimentation of Aphex Twin. “Body Snatchers” rides a monotonic, Kraut-rock lock step before erupting into an epic anthem that U2 forgot to write for their “War” album. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” is classic Radiohead, Johnny Greenwood’s signature guitar sound intertwining with his brother Colin’s jazzy bass lines to create a sea of dreamy melodies underneath Yorke’s slurry intonations.
Jumping from the hazy sunshine strum of “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” to the piano-powered lament of album closer “Videotape,” “In Rainbows” proves to be not only one of 2007’s most important musical moments, but also one of its best.
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